What Benefits Does Blackstrap Molasses Offer for Diabetics?

Blackstrap molasses allows a diabetic patient to maintain a sweet tooth without destabilizing blood sugar levels, as claimed by Healthline. Blackstrap molasses is a byproduct of the sugarcane refinery process. The first boiling of sugar cane produces syrup for sugar production while a second boiling produces blackstrap molasses. This product has the lowest sugar content for any sugarcane byproduct. Apart from the low sugar level, this product contains a host of vitamins and minerals.

Blackstrap molasses can be a part of many food items as a sweetener, as documented by Natural Society. This alternative sweetener is suitable for use in baking cookies, waffles or pancakes, and for use in hot cereals and teas. Blackstrap molasses can replace sugars and artificial sweeteners with added nutritional benefits.

Unlike sugar, blackstrap molasses is low on the glycemic index, as documented on SF Gate. Blackstrap molasses returns a value of 55 on the glycemic index, compared to a value of 80 that table sugar registers on the same index. A high glycemic index can cause a rise in blood sugar, something that doesn’t happen with blackstrap molasses. Another factor that makes blackstrap molasses suitable for diabetic patients is that the body metabolizes it slowly, which doesn’t cause a sudden rise in blood sugar.